Dragonfly
by Everythingistaken
Summary: Lisa buys a troubled horses that turns the life at Fairfield and Heartland upside down. While Jack tries his best to support his wife, Amy tries to figure out how she can help the young horse, called Dragonfly. Set between episode 4 and 5 of season 9.
1. Chapter 1

This fanfiction was inspired by Buck Brannaman, a "real life" horse whisperer. I hope you enjoy, it's a rather fluffy and a little dramatic story that I had in mind for Lisa for almost a year. I always love your reviews, so if you'd take the time to comment I would really appreciate it.

Chapter 1

* * *

It was a beautiful early summer day and Lisa got out of bed even before her alarm went off. The sun was already lightening her bedroom and she was glad that she decided against spending the summer in France that year. She had always missed Jack when she was away but it seemed to get worse every time she went. She took a quick shower, got dressed and made her way to Heartland even before breakfast. She did spend the night at Jack's every now and then but every once in a while she enjoyed the comfort of her bed at Fairfield with the many, many pillows that Jack couldn't stand.  
She knew that Jack was probably up already and didn't even bother to look for him inside the house. She walked towards the barn right away where he was busy renovating the loft for Amy and Ty. "You are early", Jack smiled when he saw his wife entering the construction side.  
"Yeah, the sunshine got me out of bed early today", Lisa smiled back and kissed Jack, "good morning", she mumbled between two kisses. "Morning to you too", Jack replied.  
"Well, this is getting along", Lisa commented as she looked around the loft.  
"Yeah, rather slowly if I might add", Jack grunted.  
"Do you think you could take the day off?" Lisa asked.  
"Depends on what you have planned", Jack laughed.  
"I was going to look at a couple of horses and I would love your company", Lisa explained.  
"As long as you are not trying to talk me into buying a horse for myself because of Paint."  
"I would never do that", Lisa sighted. It was true, she hadn't even thought about getting involved in the process of finding a new horse for Jack.  
"Well in that case, I would love to come."  
"Great", Lisa smiled. Jack changed into clean clothes and half an hour later he was driving Lisa's SUV towards the horse auction.  
"Any horses you wanted to look at in particular?" Jack asked while his eyes were resting on the road.  
"Actually, there is this one horse I wanted to check out. He has an amazing bloodline and supposedly great potential."  
"What's the catch?"  
"Well, he is on the market for the third time this year, for some reason no owner keeps him longer than a couple of months. He is known for being quiet… difficult. His mother died in a fire only days after his birth and he was raised by a woman."  
Jack looked at his wife for a split second before he concentrated on the road again.  
"And why in the world would you even be interested in a horse that is known for being difficult?"  
"Jack, you know how many horses are _known_ for being difficult because of bagatelles. Who knows what's behind all that. I just want to have a look. And it has been a while since we did something alone."  
"Well, I can't wait to see that horse now…", Jack chuckled.

They arrived at the auction and strolled around for a while, looking at various horses.  
"Here, that's him", Lisa said as they passed a beautiful chestnut. He was standing calmly in his stall, barely paying any attention to what was going on around him.  
"He is definitely a fine looking horse", Jack remarked and leaned over the fence to stroke his nose but the horse drew aside.  
"What's his name?"  
"Dragonfly", Lisa chuckled.  
"What a name for such a nice thoroughbred… He seems a little apathetic though", Jack said.  
"Yeah, he does. I wonder why", Lisa answered, "the probably sedated him slightly to get him through the chaos of another auction."  
"Probably. You should talk to someone in charge before you bid anything on him."  
Lisa took Jack's advice and got some information about Dragonfly. They did sedate him because he had been going through many hands in the last years and was getting more and more nervous whenever he needed to adapt to new surroundings.  
"Well, if we get him settled down at Fairfield he might calm down and recover", Lisa told Jack before the bidding.  
"Lisa, Dragonfly is known as a troubled horse. There is a reason why they are probably about to give that horse away for next to nothing. Don't you have enough on your plate?"  
"He is only three and a half Jack, there is still so much potential there. I just want to try. Imagine if that poor guy gets in the wrong hands again and ends up at another auction in a couple of weeks. He might not recover from that."  
"All I'm saying is that I think you might be making a mistake. But I know you… You'll buy him anyway", Jack laughed and Lisa smiled.  
"Of course she will", Lisa and Jack heard from behind and immediately both of their smiles froze. While turning around Lisa sighted: "Dan… Good to see you…" Jack couldn't bring himself to say anything to his wife's ex-husband and nodded disparagingly to him.  
"She always had something for the underdogs…", Dan laughed depreciatory. Lisa took a deep breath in and hoped that Jack would do the same. She definitely wasn't in the mood for a boxing match between her husband and ex-husband.  
"Well, she did pretty well with doing so", Jack grunted.  
"If you say so… But you really shouldn't get involved with that horse, Lisa. He has the looks but is nothing but trouble. He's just too much to handle", Dan kept on rambling.  
"Let that be my concern, Dan", Lisa simpered and was more than relieved when Dan turned around without another word and let them alone.  
Lisa looked at Jack and Jack said: "Well, now you gotta do it."  
"Jup, exactly what I was thinking."

And of course at the end of the day Jack drove the truck back to Fairfield with the trailer loaded with Dragonfly. They unloaded the horse at Fairfield and could tell right away that the sedation was wearing off. The thoroughbred was prancing around nervously and Lisa decided to let him get settle on one of the bigger paddocks where he could stretch his legs and couldn't get in trouble with any of the other horses. The staff was informed to be more careful around Dragonfly because of his supposedly difficult behavior and Lisa and Jack drove back to Heartland to have dinner with the rest of the family.

After the dinner Lisa and Amy were washing the dishes together when Jack walked into the room asking: "Has Lisa told you about her new horse already?"  
"No, what new horse?" Amy answered with a new question, curious right away. She listened attentively when Lisa told her everything she knew about Dragonfly.  
"Wow, I can't believe you actually bought him", Amy remarked, "it sounds like he could be a real trouble horse."  
"I'm hoping that he just needs time to settle in. He's such an amazing animal, Amy, you should check him out the next time you're at Fairfield. I bet you'll fall in love with him as fast as I did!"  
"Probably", Amy laughed and Jack agreed: "The more troubled a soul is the more loved is it by my wife and granddaughter."  
"Why do you think I married you?" Lisa joked to Amy's amusement.

They cleaned up the kitchen and soon Jack and Lisa landed on the couch where Jack wrapped his arms around Lisa. "Are you staying here tonight?" Jack asked. Lisa had a couple of clothes and toiletries stored in Jacks bedroom and bathroom so that she could stay at his place whenever she felt like it.  
"I'm not sure yet, I actually wanted to get an early start at Fairfield tomorrow and check in with Dragonfly before the staff starts but now it's so cozy I can't bring myself to go outside again", Lisa sighted.  
"Hmm, that's nice", Jack smiled and placed a kiss on Lisa's head, taking in her familiar scent.  
"Lisa, I think you should be very carefully with that horse", Jack suddenly changed the subject.  
"I will, I promise. But as long as I don't know how Dragonfly really behaves I don't want to send anyone of my staff to him for working with him."  
Jack knew that part of why Lisa's business was so successfully was her ability to treat her staff fair and respectfully. She would never avoid getting her hands dirty if it was necessary. That's why Jack said: "I know. I'm just saying."  
They enjoyed the coziness for a little while longer until they went to bed. The next day Lisa got up before the sun rose and drove home right after her first cup of coffee. She parked her SUV and then walked over to the paddock where Dragonfly stood. The horse was standing in one of the corners of the paddock, looking calm and relaxed. Lisa opened the gate and slowly made her way towards Dragonfly. She could see that he had already noticed her. His ears were directed towards her.  
"Hey boy. You don't seem very nervous right now, do you. Did you have a good first night here? I hope you feel alright", Lisa rambled in a very calm and low voice. There were only a couple of meters between the blonde and the horse when Dragonfly suddenly spooked and stormed away. Lisa jumped to the side with her heart racing. THAT she hadn't expected but didn't interpreted much into it. She was pretty pleased with Dragonfly's state and started her regular workday. It became her morning routine for the next couple of days. In the hope that Dragonfly would get used to her she lessened the distance to him a little more every time she was there. When she was certain that Dragonfly wouldn't get spooked by her presence she took a couple of carrots with her the next morning she checked in with him. At first Dragonfly looked interested and made a couple of careful steps towards Lisa. He even took the carrot very gently and Lisa whispered: "Good boy, that's yummy, isn't it?" Just when she lifted her hand Dragonfly panicked again, reared and before he stormed of bit Lisa in the arm. Lisa was so shocked that she froze for a moment. She felt the pain shoot through her body and cursed. She quickly left the paddock and closed the gate with her left arm – her right shoulder felt like it was on fire. "Little monster", Lisa cursed as she watched Dragonfly graze. It wasn't the first time a horse had bitten her but definitely still as painful as always. She took of her blazer and noticed that her upper arm and shoulder was already turning blue and slightly bloody. Just then did Lisa's phone ring. It was Jack. "Hey", Lisa answered with clenched teeth. " Hey, just wanted to check if you're free for lunch today?" Jack asked.  
"Yeah, I can come over?" Lisa suggested still taking deep breaths in as if she could breathe the pain away.

"Perfect. Are you OK? You sound a little weird."  
"Yeah, I'm fine. See you later", Lisa quickly ended the call and hung up.

 _Jack is going to lose it if he finds out about the bite,_ Lisa thought while she walked to the stable. She put some ointment on the wound in the hope that she could prevent a nasty bruise but knew from experience that there was not really anything she could to except for waiting for it to heal with time.

* * *

After a couple of hours it was time for lunch and Lisa drove to Heartland with fresh sandwiches she had bought at Maggie's. She found Jack in the loft that he was renovating for Amy and Ty. "Hey there", Lisa smiled.  
"Lis, it's so good to see you!" Jack exclaimed.  
"How is it coming along? It looks better", Lisa looked around the construction site.  
"We're getting there. Come on now, let's enjoy that beautiful sunshine a little, I have been trapped in here all day", Jack smiled and laid a hand on Lisa's back and gently guided her towards the stairs that led downstairs. Lisa did her best to hide the pain that came with Jack's touch but he could feel her tense body. He dropped the hand and they sat down at the bench on the porch. _It was a stupid idea, coming here,_ Lisa thought. There were so many movements that sent waves of pain through her body, it was almost impossible to hide her injury. But Jack didn't say a word and after they finished eating Lisa got back to work. That evening she checked in with Dragonfly again – he was enjoying the fresh hay.  
Lisa wasn't too worried about the little attack on her. _He needs a little more time,_ she told herself. The next times when she checked up on Dragonfly she distanced herself from the horse a little more again and Dragonfly didn't seem to mind her company. Lisa knew the best thing she could do was to give him some company but didn't want to risk any injuries on one of her other horses.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

Almost one month had passed when Lisa walked into the paddock, eager to get closer to Dragonfly again. She brought a couple of apples with her and very, very slowly walked towards the horse. "Hey boy, look at you. You are such a beautiful boy, aren't you?" she murmured. Lisa was near enough to touch Dragonfly's neck when Dragonfly raised up and tensed his muscles. Lisa knew enough about horses to know that she had gone too far. That horse was about to explode. Lisa told herself to breath calmly and backed away very slowly. She concentrated on nothing but the horse and didn't notice the man coming towards the paddock. The distance between Lisa and Dragonfly got bigger with every step that Lisa made backwards – she didn't dare to turn her back on Dragonfly. Adrenalin was shooting through her body and just when she thought nothing would happen Jack called her: "Hey there", and winked. Lisa turned her head away from Dragonfly for a split second, recognized Jack, opened her mouth to say something but then didn't because Jack frantically yelled: "LISA, WHATCH OUT!" Dragonfly was rearing up and stormed towards the blond, who jump out of his way just before he ran her over. She ran towards the fence and Jack quickly opened the gat, grabbed Lisa and pulled her out of the paddock. "Damned", Lisa cursed.  
"Jesus, Lisa", Jack murmured, took a tissue out of the pocket and pressed it on Lisa's head. Only then did his wife notice the blood that was dripping on the ground. Dragonfly got her again, but this time on her head on the right side of her forehead.  
"Can you walk?" Jack asked. He noticed that Lisa was a little unsteady on her feet.  
"Yeah", Lisa said, suppressing a groan. Now that the shock was wearing off the pain really started to unfold. She thought they would walk back to the house and hesitated when Jack guided her to the truck.  
"I'm not going to the hospital, Jack!" she stated.  
"Yes, you are", Jack murmured, not up for a discussion. He knew Lisa long enough to know that she avoided doctor visits as long as she could but Jack also knew that head injuries are no joke and just by looking at Lisa he could tell that she was in pain.  
"It's really not that bad, please Jack", Lisa plead.  
"Lisa, it'll take thirty minutes for them to stich you up. We'll be home before you know it."  
"You know as well as I do that that's not true. They'll want to keep me over night, make cranial scans and all of that because of a laceration", Lisa discussed.  
Jack took a deep breath in. He really wanted someone professional to check Lisa but knew that he couldn't force her to the hospital.  
"I'll call Tricia Verani, she'll take a look and tell us if you need to go to the hospital or not, deal?"  
"Deal", Lisa sighted. Her head was pounding and nausea mounted inside her.  
"Come on, let's get you inside", Jack decided and supported her on the way to the house. "Lay down on the couch, I'll call Tricia", Jack demanded gently and Lisa gladly sunk down on her sofa with the tissue still pressed on the wound.  
Jack came back with an icepack wrapped in a kitchen towel that they switched against the blood-soaked tissue.  
"She said she'll be right here", Jack said.  
"'Kay", Lisa whispered with closed eyes.  
"Are you feeling tolerably OK?" Jack asked concerned.  
"Yeah, I'll be fine", Lisa murmured.

Then Tricia called: "Hello?"  
Jack got up and guided her to the living room.  
"Hey there", Tricia greeted Lisa who looked as pale as the white wall behind her by now.  
"Hi Tricia, thanks for coming so fast", Lisa forced herself to smile and wanted to sit up but Tricia stopped her by quickly lying a hand on her shoulder and pressing her back again: "Don't get up, just lie down like that. What happened?"  
"She got attacked by a rather unstable horse", Jack explained.  
"All right, let's have a look", Tricia said and took the icepack off the wound and caused Lisa to groan in discomfort.  
"That looks nastier than I thought", Tricia admitted, "you definitely need a couple of stiches, Lisa."  
"Can you do it here?" Lisa asked.  
"I'd rather not", Tricia looked at Lisa's expensive furniture. Lisa noticed Tricia's look and said: "Don't worry about the couch."  
Tricia took out a little pen-torch and shone a light into Lisa's eyes.

"Is it possible that the horse hit your head with his skull so hard that you might have a concussion?"  
"I don't know. It all happened so fast, I barely remember", Lisa answered so Tricia looked questioning at Jack.  
"It was a pretty hard collision, I think it might be possible, Lis", Jack answered.  
"Do you feel nauseous, dizzy, sleepy?"  
"A little maybe", Lisa confessed.  
"I would prefer it if we could get you to the hospital", Tricia said, "I can stich the wound and give you something for the pain but there's not much more I can do here."  
"Well, that's not much less than the hospital would do, is it?" Lisa muttered.  
"No, it's not but in case it gets worse you would be in good hands", Tricia argued.  
"I'll be fine and if not I can still go to the hospital", Lisa decided.  
"All right", Tricia took out the utensils she needed for the stiches and anesthetized the area around the wound which was more painful that the gash itself. A little later the pain was numb though and soon Tricia packed her things and left the couple alone after giving strict instructions: "No TV, Phone, iPad, Laptop, nothing mentally or physically challenging! As long as you remember everything and the pain doesn't get worse you should be back on your feet in a couple of days. Some only need days, some need weeks so take all the time you need."

"You know what Lisa, you can be so stubborn, it drives me crazy", Jack murmured when he sat down at the other end of the couch and lifted Lisa's legs on his lap.  
"I'm really fine Jack, I'm not just saying that to calm you down", Lisa smiled.  
"Well, I will be so generous and believe you and I will even let you decide whether you want to come to Heartland with me or if you want me to stay here", Jack grinned.  
"Hm, tough choice", Lisa smirked but fell asleep before she could say anything else. Jack chuckled and called Lou to tell her that he won't be coming home that day.

Lisa recovered fast and a week later she was up on her feet again. Even though she was absolutely annoyed by everyone asking her what had happened as soon as the big Band-Aid on her forehead was spotted she was doing relatively good. Jack noticed that she was doing much better too so one evening when they were sitting at the dinner table together and the rest of the family had already excused themselves Jack started the conversation he wanted to have ever since Dragonfly bit his wife in the head.

"What are you going to do with Dragonfly now?" Jack asked.  
"What do you mean what am I going to do with him?"  
"Well, are you going to try to sell him or do you plan on keeping him?"  
"I'm not gonna sell him, nobody is gonna buy a horse that bites anyway", Lisa said.  
"You did", Jack reminded her.  
"Yeah, but they didn't say that one of his issues is attacking people."

"Did something like that happen before?" Jack asked, already suspecting the answer.  
"Once maybe", Lisa answered evasively.  
"What happened?"  
"It was in his first week at Heartland. I tried to stroke him but he spooked and bit me in the arm", Lisa admitted.  
"Lisa! You didn't say a word!"  
"I know how you 'd think about it", Lisa sighted, "but I hoped it was just a onetime thing."  
"Well, now we know it's not. I knew that guy was trouble!"  
"Now you know why I didn't tell you", Lisa muttered.  
"I'm really trying not to tell you that _I told you so,_ but honestly Lisa, that horse is nothing worry. I wish I could forbid you to go near him!"  
"But what am I supposed to do? I can't sell him; I can't ask anyone else to go near him in my place. I can't just euthanize him without giving him a chance", Lisa exclaimed.  
Amy, who had just walked into the room overheard the last sentence. "Euthanize Dragonfly?" she asked. She knew that it had been Dragonfly that had caused Lisa's head injury and had been waiting pretty much since the accident to ask if she could help.  
"I just don't know what to do with him", Lisa sighted.  
"I could – ", Amy started talking but Lisa and Jack interrupted her at the same time: "Absolutely not", Jack said and Lisa: "No way!"  
"I could just take a look at him. I don't even need to get inside the paddock for that", Amy said.  
" Fine, you can LOOK at him, but neither of you is getting near that horse!" Jack demanded and looked at the two woman he loved with his whole heart.  
"What horse?" Georgie asked who now had overheard Jack's last sentence when she had walked through the front door after having dinner with Peter.  
"The one that bit you, Lisa?" she asked.  
"Yeah", Lisa nodded vaguely.  
"Can I look at him too?" Georgie asked.  
"I don't know if that's such a good idea", Jack answered. Georgie would fall for Dragonfly as soon as she saw him and he really didn't want to see her sad face if Lisa would actually decide to put him down.  
"What's the harm in looking?"  
Everybody looked at Jack who said: "I'm not the one that can make this decision anyhow, go and ask Lou, if she says yes we will take you with us."  
"'kay", Georgie agreed and searched for Lou. She talked her into allowing her to go with Jack, Amy and Lisa so the next day all four of them gathered around Dragonfly's paddock.  
"He is definitely a real beauty", Amy admired the horse.  
"That he is", Lisa sighted.  
"How old is he again?" Amy asked.  
"Three and a half", Lisa answered.  
"Do you know why he is acting out all the time?" Georgie wanted to know.  
"Well, I bought him pretty much as a problematic horse. They said he was nervous in new surroundings, doesn't trust people and so on. But no one ever mentioned any aggressive behavior towards humans."  
"What doesn't mean that there has never been an incident before", Jack murmured.  
"No, of course not", Lisa agreed sighting, "but this dimension of aggressiveness still comes as a shock. I don't know if it's me Dragonfly can't stand or something I did."  
"Can I just watch him for a while?" Amy asked.  
"Sure", Lisa nodded, "but I really don't want you to go near him."  
"Don't worry, I'll stay outside the paddock", Amy promised.  
"Can I stay with you?" Georgie asked.  
"Yeah, I don't see why not", Amy nodded and so only Jack and Lisa left them alone.  
"What are we going to do now?" Georgie asked.  
"We are going to sit on the fence and wait what happens", Amy decided.  
"That's all?" Georgie rolled with her eyes.  
"We need to find out what triggers him before we go near him."

But after almost an hour Amy still couldn't make head or tail of Dragonfly. He had been call the whole time, grazed and enjoyed the sunshine on his back. When Jack and Lisa got back to the paddock Amy said: "I have no idea what makes him loose his mind so fast, he was absolutely calm now. Maybe I just need more time with him. I'm thinking that the fact that he wasn't raised by other horses might have been the reason why his behavior is so strange. If there was never anyone to show him where the line is than his behavior now is not really surprising. Young horses need someone to be raised consistent just as much as young children do. Was he checked by a vet?"  
"Of course", Lisa nodded, "he's supposed to be physically fine."  
"Maybe he's still traumatized by losing his ´mother or by the fire and every little gesture remembers him. I'm not sure but I think it's worth a shot. I would love to work with him", Amy said, knowing that her grandfather would do everything in his power to forbid it.  
"No. No way", Jack shook his head.  
"Grandpa, I'm sorry, but I'm really not a child anymore that you can forbid to take on a horse. I'm responsible enough to be careful around him and I won't do anything risky."  
"Just being near that horse is risky enough!" remarked Jack.  
Amy looked at Lisa.  
"I can't say yes if Jack says no, I really don't want to get caught in the middle of you two", Lisa said.  
"I could try to work with a fence between me and Dragonfly in the beginning", Amy suggested.  
"And never alone", Jack demanded.  
"All right", Amy nodded. Then Georgie, Jack and Amy expectantly looked at Lisa.  
"Fine", Lisa said, "but I don't even think we can get him in a trailer without putting ourselves in danger."  
"Can't Ty sedate him for the ride?" Georgie asked. Lisa thought about it for a while. She never liked to sedate any of her animals but Amy couldn't work with Dragonfly on Fairfield because they couldn't get him into a round pen without coming near him.  
"Maybe", she thought out aloud. Jack couldn't help but felt sorry for his wife. He should have stopped her from getting that horse.  
"I'll give him a call", Amy decided.

With the sedation Dragonfly was unloaded at Heartland only a little later. Amy put him in a round pen where he could stretch his legs but wasn't far away from the everyday life at Heartland. That way they could all keep an eye on his behavior and she could work with him without getting too close.

"Please be careful with him, Amy. I could never forgive myself if you'd get hurt by this horse", Lisa told Amy when they walked to the house together.  
"I promise", Amy smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

Later that day Jack and Lisa sat on the bench in front of the house, enjoying the clear, fresh air. Lisa was quieter than usual and Jack asked: "You OK?"  
Lisa had been daydreaming and needed a short moment to answer: "Yeah. I just can't help but think that I've made a terrible mistake with buying Dragonfly. I'm wondering if I would have bought him if Dan wouldn't have been there."  
"Don't doubt yourself, Lisa. You went to that action mainly because of that horse, you were interested in him before you even saw Dan. Don't let him spook around in your head anymore, Beautiful. He would have said the things he said no matter what horse you wanted to buy."  
"You're right. I guess I'm just scared that I made a terrible mistake."

"Don't worry about it too much you little worrier. If anyone can help that horse, it's going to be Amy and if not then Dragonfly at least got a real chance."  
"Hm", Lisa made a sound that Jack didn't know how to interpret. He pulled Lisa into his arms and kissed her. "Everything is going to be fine", Jack whispered.

As it happens the next couple of days everything was going well. Amy worked through the protection of the fence with Dragonfly in the hope that he'll get used to her, she fed him carrots and apples out of her palm, talked to him and even stroked his neck through the fence. She just couldn't say what his problem was. "Take your town, honey, there's no rush", Lisa said when Amy told her about her nonexistent progress with Dragonfly.

Tricia took the stitches out of Lisa's wound and all that was left was a nasty bruise. She felt much better and could feel how the symptoms of the concussion abated. She could finally concentrate on work again and enjoyed living without a permanent headache.

Amy was starting to feel pretty good about Dragonfly even though she still didn't know what his issues were. That's why she decided to let him on a big pasture where he had more room and where she could start working with him without a fence between them. She told Ty about it and asked if he could help her. Of course Ty agreed and helped her to get Dragonfly on the pasture. Everything seemed to be fine and Amy felt save inside the pasture with the horse. She sat down in the grass near the grass and waited for Dragonfly to make the first move. He came close to her, smelled a little on her jacket, gently nudged her and when Amy didn't react started grazing again. Amy sat very still and tried not to move, she wasn't scared but had the image of Lisa's injury in her head and felt incredibly vulnerable. But everything went smoothly, Amy got up very slowly, walked towards the gate backwards and then left the pasture.  
"I feel like I can finally breath again", Ty laughed, very relieved that nothing had happened to his wife.  
"Yeah, I was a little nervous again. Maybe Dragonfly's biggest problem is being kept in a small are, like a paddock or in the stable. Lisa gave me the number of the breeder that raised him. I think I'll give her a call."

The woman that had raised Dragonfly after his mother had died in the fire willingly answered all of Amy's questions.  
"I raised him in with the bottle. It was a freezing cold winter so I kept him in the house since our stable burned down. All I wanted to do was to save him. He is such a great horse, he used to be so tame", she indulged in the past.  
"Did he ever bite someone when he was still with you?" Amy asked.  
"I'd say he always had quite a temper and was a little spoiled, I must admit. I never took it very serious, he wasn't behaving very differently from our other young horses. I could work with him like I could with every other horse we bred, he was used to the halter, to the trailer, I even started breaking him gently… He never bit us seriously but sometimes he would prick me, yeah."  
"Do you know why?"  
"Not really. I always let it go through because of his traumatic experience as a colt. Is his new owner badly hurt?"  
"She is doing much better but it was a pretty nasty bite. I'm trying to figure out what triggers the behavior but can't seem to find it out", Amy admitted.  
"I hope I could help", the woman said before they hung up.

Amy felt better after the phone call. She was sure now that Dragonfly never learned how to behave normally because he lacked contact with horses in the early months of his life. She repeatedly sat down in the grass under Ty's observation and after a couple of successful sessions started stroking him when he came near her. She eventually started standing up while stroking Dragonfly and he was obviously all right with that, he stood still, was relaxed and calm. She could halter him and walked around in the pasture. Amy started leading him outside the pasture, always with Ty by her side in case Dragonfly freaked again.  
"Ty, I think he's ready for a join up", Amy decided after weeks of working with him.  
"Can I come inside the round pen with you?" Ty asked with puckered brows.  
"You know the answer", Amy laughed.  
"Amy, I don't know… are you sure it's a good idea to lock yourself in a round pen with him?"  
"It's the right next step. I'm not getting anywhere with him by leading him around. I need to REALLY start working with him."  
"There is nothing I can say to convince you not to do it anyway", Ty chuckled, "but I'll sit on the fence and jump in if anything happens."  
"All right", Amy agreed.

The first Join up Amy did with Dragonfly was a success. The horse bonded with her just the way he was supposed to. The second time Amy took Dragonfly to the round pen Jack and Lisa were watching form the porch. Everything went fine until Amy turned her back to Dragonfly.  
"Amy, get out", Ty pressed out through clenched teeth. Amy didn't need to turn around to know that Dragonfly was about to attack. She ran towards the gate that Ty had already opened, ready to get his wife out of danger. Lisa and Jack were running towards the scene.  
Amy was almost out when Dragonfly got her on the lower back. Amy fell forward and Dragonfly only missed her fragile body by inches with his hooves.  
"AMY", Ty screamed and helped her on her feet before he dragged her out of the round pen. Jack closed the gate again and as fast as Dragonfly escalated he calmed down again.  
"You OK?" Ty asked. Amy groaned but said: "Yeah. No broken bones."  
"Did he bite you?" Lisa asked worried.  
Amy lifted her shirt and exposed a nasty bite mark.  
"Damned", Jack cursed.  
"Let's get some ice on that", Ty said.  
"Amy, I'm so, so sorry", Lisa whispered before she took her phone out of her trouser pocket. Ty led Amy to the house and Jack followed Lisa.  
"Who are you calling?" Jack asked.  
"Scott", Lisa murmured.  
"Why?" Jack asked even though he knew the answer.  
"I can't risk another person to get hurt."  
"Lisa."  
"You know it's the only responsible thing to do, Jack. Amy can't keep working with him."  
"I know. But…", Jack sighted. He didn't know what to say so Lisa dialed Scott's number. She didn't want Ty to euthanize a healthy horse, not in the early stages of his career.  
"Scott, hey, it's Lisa", Lisa started talking and then explained Scott the situation. He promised to come by as fast as possible.

Inside the house Amy cooled the bruise on her back. "Ty, you need to stop Lisa from calling Scott. She'll never let me near Dragonfly again but it's not too late to help him. Maybe he needs to spend some time in a herd where he can become socialized. Don't let them kill him."  
"Amy, Lisa can't take responsibility for a horse like that, nobody can", Ty sighted.  
"I don't care, I'll buy him from her if necessary", Amy stated and then saw Lisa on her phone through the window.  
Amy ran outside yelling: "LISA, NO! You need to give Dragonfly another chance, you can't euthanize him! Please don't", Amy pledged with tears in her eyes.  
"Amy, there's no other way. I cannot let you work with him anymore, I never wanted you to get hurt and now he bit you! It's the last thing I want to do, but I don't see any other way", Lisa was desperate. In all these years of her career she had never been confronted with a situation like this.  
"Lisa, please. We will find a way. You can't kill him because of a mistake his former owner did!"  
"But I also can't pay for the mistake", Lisa argued, "I don't want to do this Amy, I really don't."  
"Then don't! We will figure something out. He can life a happy life on a pasture without any people around him that he can bite."  
"And what if a family drives by, stops the car, the kids get out and want to stroke Dragonfly and get attacked?"  
"You can hand signs on the fence", Amy tried to convince Lisa. Jack stood next to the two woman and wished he could offer them a better solution.  
"Amy, you know as much as I do that signs work in 1 out of 10 cases."  
"What if we let him in a herd? Maybe all he needs is socializing with other horses."  
"And what herd? Neither I nor you have one that can integrate Dragonfly", Lisa sighted.  
"We could make some calls. Ask around. Maybe Dragonfly's breeder is willing to help us out."  
"A couple of calls might be worth a shot", Jack agreed.  
"Fine. I'll give us until tomorrow. But Amy, we don't even know if he's compatible with other horses."  
"We'll never know if we don't try", Amy argued.

Amy, Ty, Lisa and Jack spent the rest of the day on the phone, trying to find a herd where Dragonfly could find a new home in. Georgie looked all over the internet for pet sanctuaries but no one was willing to take in an unpredictably aggressive horse and Amy couldn't reach the breeder. Eventually Georgie went to bed and so did Amy and Ty. They would start making calls in the morning again.

Lisa was sitting on the couch with her phone in the hands. "Lisa, let's go to bed", Jack said. "What if we don't find a place for him? I can't take the responsibility and I can't let Scott euthanize a three years old horse that is healthy. If Dan finds out the whole country will find about this. Do you know how that'll make me look? How that'll make Fairfield look? It will be a huge scandal. And that poor horse, Amy is right, how can we kill him if he doesn't know better?"  
"Lis, you're thinking too much again. You are absolutely right, but we'll worry about all those things tomorrow, if we don't find a different solution."  
Jack sat down next to Lisa and embraced her. She melted in his arms.

The next day everyone was up before the sun started raising. The first thing Amy did was to call Dragonfly's breeder, Mila Thomson.  
"What can I do for you?" Mila asked kindly, even though it was still early.  
Amy explained.  
"I wish I could help. But I only have a herd consisting of five seniors. They are all older than twenty."  
"It might be all Dragonfly needs. I know it's a risk but it might be worth a try."  
"It's my fault that he's about to be euthanized. If there is anything I can do to prevent that then I will."  
"That's great, Mila. We would sedate him and could be at your place in about five to six hours?"  
"All right", Mila agreed.  
"Thank you so much. See you soon."  
"See you."

"Dragonfly's breeder, Mila Thomson, will give him another chance", Amy announced the good news.  
"Oh gosh, I'm so relieved", Lisa whispered.  
"Let's get him ready for the ride", Amy smiled.

At the end of the day Dragonfly was already sharing a pasture with five other horses. All of the seniors made him clear that he was not the boss of them. Amy knew that conflicts could evolve much later in the herd but for now she was nothing but relieved. Ty was standing beside her and laid an arm around her shoulders. "I love you", he whispered before he kissed her on the forehead.  
"I love you too", Amy smiled.

Back at Heartland Lisa and Jack decided to spend the night at Fairfield. They settled down in Lisa's garden and shared a bottle of vine.  
"Thank you for helping me with Dragonfly", Lisa smiled.  
"Well, I'm partly to blame for the mess you got yourself in with him. I should have stopped back at the auction", Jack answered.  
Lisa didn't say anything at first and leaned towards to kiss him: "You know what, part of why I love you so much is because you always believe in me. You never stop me from doing anything even though you know I might not be doing the right thing. And in the end you're there to clean up the mess with me. I couldn't love you any more for that."  
"In that case: you're welcome", Jack smiled, "I love you too."

* * *

 _ **The End**_

 _ **Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to review**_


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